Prayers and Meditations eBook

Have mercy upon me and upon all them that are in my
company, through the wonders of Thy grace and power.
Shield us, then, O my God, from the mischief of Thine
enemies, and assist us to help Thy Faith, and to protect
Thy Cause, and to celebrate Thy glory. Thou art,
verily, He Who from everlasting hath inhabited the
inaccessible heights of His unity, and will continue
to remain the same for ever and ever. Nothing
whatsoever escapeth Thy knowledge, nor is there anything
that can frustrate Thee. No God is there beside
Thee, the Almighty, the Ever-Faithful, the Most Exalted,
the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved.

Lauded and glorified art Thou, in Whose hand is the
empire of all things!

XVII: “Magnified be Thy name, O God, the Lord of...”

Magnified be Thy name, O God, the Lord of heaven!
Attire my head with the crown of martyrdom, even as
Thou didst attire my body with the ornament of tribulation
before all that dwell in Thy land. Grant, moreover,
that they whose hearts yearn over Thee may draw nigh
unto the horizon of Thy grace, above which the Day-Star
of Thy beauty sheddeth its radiance. Ordain,
also, for them what will make them rich enough to dispense
with aught else except Thee, and rid them of all attachment
to such as have repudiated Thy signs.

There is none other God but Thee, the Guardian, the
Self-Subsisting.

XVIII: “Praised be Thou, O my God! How can I thank...”

Praised be Thou, O my God! How can I thank Thee
for having singled me out and chosen me above all
Thy servants to reveal Thee, at a time when all had
turned away from Thy beauty! I testify, O my God,
that if I were given a thousand lives by Thee, and
offered them up all in Thy path, I would still have
failed to repay the least of the gifts which, by Thy
grace, Thou hast bestowed upon me.

I lay asleep on the bed of self when lo, Thou didst
waken me with the divine accents of Thy voice, and
didst unveil to me Thy beauty, and didst enable me
to listen to Thine utterances, and to recognize Thy
Self, and to speak forth Thy praise, and to extol
Thy virtues, and to be steadfast in Thy love.
Finally I fell a captive into the hands of the wayward
among Thy servants.

Thou beholdest, therefore, the exile which I suffer
in Thy days, and art aware of my vehement longing
to look upon Thy face, and of mine irrepressible yearnings
to enter the court of Thy glory, and of the stirrings
of my heart under the influences of the winds of Thy
mercy.

I entreat Thee, O Thou Who art the Ruler of the kingdoms
of creation and the Author of all names, to write
down my name with the names of them who, from eternity,
have circled round the Tabernacle of Thy majesty, and
clung to the hem of Thy loving-kindness, and held
fast the cord of Thy tender mercy.